Oael haegele



UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

CARL HAEGELE, OF GEISLINGEN, WURTEMBERG, GERMANY.

PLATING METALS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 267,8i79, datedNovember 21, 1882.

Application filed July 20, 1882. (No specimens.) Patented in France May2, 1882, and in Germany May 6, 1882.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CARL HAEGELE, a citizenof Germany, residing at Geislingen, Kingdom of Wiirtemberg, GermanEmpire, have invented new and improved processes in the manufacture ofplates, bars, Wires, and figurepieces from copper alloys, iron, or steelwelded with alloys, and plated or not plated with precious metals, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a process of plating articles of copper, iron,or steel with brass or similar alloys of copper by placing theplatingmetal upon the article to be plated, heating them together to ared heat, and then exposing them to a heavy pressure, the presentinvention being an improvement upon the invention shown in LettersPatent granted me July 12, 1881, No. 244,230. The articles so treatedmay have applied to their plated surfaces a paste of chloride of silver,tartar, and salt, and thereon a sheet of silver or gold, and then beexposed to a heavy pressure for the purpose of becoming plated withsilver or gold.

As a substitute for brass and similar alloys it has been for some timeattempted to manufacture sheet-iron plated with such alloys. Suchmanufacture has, however, not yet been practically successful, becausethe only manner of producing solid platings is that of welding, and theordinary brass and similar alloys cannot be worked at thewelding-temperature, and brass, which at a red heat becomes malleable,and which is but rarely used in practice, will at this temperatureevolve zinc fumes to such an excess as to be but little adapted forplating.

The invention is based on the fact, first, that copper, iron, or steelcan be united with brass or similar alloys if the two metals to beunited are carefully cleaned and placed upon each other and heated to ared heat with the exclusion of air, and then exposed to a heavypressure, and if the alloys are prepared in such proportion that whenthe same are exposed to a red heat only a very limited escape of zinccan take place; second, that the alloys which as such cannot be rolledat a red heat will under pressure at this temperature unite with copper,iron, or steel, and can then (in comparatively thinlayers) be rplledout, together with the base metal, while hot.

a corresponding decrease of copper; also, small quantities of tin, up tothree per cent., may be added.

The process of plating and rolling is the usual one.

German silver, which can be rolled at a red heat, can be obtained bypreparing alloys corresponding most nearly to the composition Ou Zn Ni,or fifty per cent. copper, forty-one per cent. zinc, and nine per cent.nickel; but

this German silver, as also the above-named malleable brass of aboutfifty per cent. copper and forty-two per cent. zinc, because of theexcessive evolving of zinc which occurs at the welding temperature, isbut little adapted for plating iron, but better adapted for platingcopper, either as such on as an intermediate layer in combination withiron, because of the absorption of the zinc vapors by the copper.

Ordinary brass and German silver, as already mentioned, are not adaptedfor plating; but al 10y of copper and tin, with about twelve per cent.of tin, employing an intermediate layer of copper and aluminium-bronzecontaining about fifteen per cent. aluminium, is adapted for thispurpose.

The production of plated sheets, rods, wires, and other articles fromthe above-named combination is attained by carefully cleaning thewelding or contact surfaces of the lower or base plates, rods, and thelike, as also of the upper or plating material, placing them one uponanother, so as to exclude the air as thoroughly as possible, fasteningthe upper or plating material by bending over the edges,

heating the packages in a reducing-flame up to a red heat, and unitingthem by pressing,

rolling, or drawing.

The percentage of In order to produce plated sheets, the base sheets arerolled between grooved rollers to such a size as required, the upper orplating sheets'are bent in molds into the form of cow ers or capsules,the edges being slightly raised, and the base-sheets are placed withinthe capsules and the edges of the latter pressed down by hand or bymachinery, thus fastening together the base and upper sheets.

If the pressed edges are to be prevented from welding, they aremoistened with gluewater to which has been added whiting.

To produce wires, the plating metal may be used in form of tubes, intowhich are passed the base-rods.

Moldings or ornamental pieces require basepieces of the requisite formand size, which are covered with the plating material and heated to ared heat and then pressedin molds. The welding takes place without anysolder, so that the plated articles may be subjected to pressing,drawing, and hard-soldering.

The above-named combinations are plated with precious metals, (or suchalloys thereof as can be rolled,) either at once or after a preliminaryheating, by rubbing the surface to be plated with a paste of chloride ofsilver, tartar, and common salt, whereby a silver surface is formed, onwhich the sheet of precious metal is spread, and the whole is thenexposed to a heavy pressure. Additional combinations can be obtainedfrom those above named, in combinatlon with iron, by the interpositionof copper or of the above-named alloys.

In Letters Patent granted as hereinbetore named I describe a mode ofplating sheet-iron a eeasae 1. The herein-specified method of unitingbrass or similar alloys with copper, iron, or

steel articles, the union being effected by placing the plating metalupon the article to be plated, then heating the same to a red heat,

and finally exposing the same to a heavy pressure, substantially asdescribed.

2. The process of plating articles of copper, iron, or steel with silveror gold by first plating them with brass or similar alloys in the mannerabove stated, then applying to the plated surface a paste of chloride ofsilver, tartar, and salt, and thereon a sheet of silver or gold, andexposing the whole to a heavy pressure, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GARL HAEGELE.

Witnesses:

O'r'ro FRIELL, OSCAR G. RUH.

